怯 (qiè) is a Chinese character meaning “timid”. It is written from 忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 去 (to go; to leave), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “timid; afraid”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
忄 + 去
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：㹤，多畏也。从犬去聲；怯，杜林說从心（现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 去 5 画 = 8 画）
Memory aid
The heart (忄) on the left wants to go (去) on the right — away, out the door, anywhere but here. A heart that only wants to leave is a frightened heart: 怯.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 胆怯dǎn qiètimid; cowardly; to lose one's nerve怯 = qiè
- 怯场qiè chǎngto have stage fright; to get nervous in front of an audience怯 = qiè
Go deeper
All readings
timid; afraid
timid; cowardly; afraid; nervous and lacking confidence
胆小、害怕；没有勇气。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 胆怯dǎn qiètimid; cowardly; to lose one's nerve怯 = qiè
- 怯场qiè chǎngto have stage fright; to get nervous in front of an audience怯 = qiè
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 怯 mean?
怯 (qiè) means timid; cowardly; afraid; nervous and lacking confidence.
How do you pronounce 怯?
It is pronounced qiè.
What parts is 怯 made of?
忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 去 (to go; to leave), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：㹤，多畏也。从犬去聲；怯，杜林說从心（现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 去 5 画 = 8 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 怯 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 怯?
心. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 怯?
Common ones are 胆怯 and 怯场. The reading of 怯 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.